Been a Long Time... (Apporta + StarShade)

[apporta]

Apporta realized the coldness of Crystal Lance's tone, but she realized that that was just how she trained. "Understood. I will practice speeding up my teleportation," the unicorn said. Indeed that was the first step to improvement, as up until now Apporta only used her teleportation to get around Canterlot, not having much of an urgency to speed it up. If she was going to be her best, she would need to do just that.

[starshade]

Slightly apalled by Crystal Lance's lack of emotion when adressing to him and Apporta, even after both the young unicorns were injured by the earlier event, StarShade swallowed deeply before clearing his throat.

"Yes, milady," came his reply, "I will work hard and train to better myself in mutltitasking."

All his life StarShade had been alone. His parents were mostly away on business, leaving lonely StarShade to grow up with only his own shadow as his only companion. Dealing with loneliness and having nopony to bark orders at him, the black unicorn never found a good use for multitasking or the need to use them until now. But now everything is different. If StarShade is to make it and actually survive Crystal Lance's training then he must certainly improve his abilities and skills.

[crystallance]

“…Well then?!” Crystal questioned her students, laying her powerful glaring eyes upon the two ponies. Her tone of voice was highly critical, expressing a strong sense of haste and impatience within the militant mare.

“I didn’t tell you two to start working on that magic technique tomorrow! I wanna see the both of you training right in front of me, right now!” Crystal barked furiously at her two apprentices. When the mare gave out an order, she expected it to be followed and this first day of basic training would certainly be no exception. Crystal knew it would be a long day, but she also knew it would only turn out to be the best for all three of them. Now if only her students would show the resolve to cooperate...

[apporta]

Apporta immediately started practicing her teleportation. She started slow as normal and became frustrated as to why she couldn't speed it up. Was she that lacking in practice? She then decided to try a pattern of looking for a quick landmark and then teleporting to it, like connecting two dots together. As she did this, she felt her teleportation timing getting faster. She knew through practice like this she would improve.

[starshade]

StarShade used his unicorn magic earlier to stop his bleeding, wrapping his aura around the wound like some sort of dark bandage until the blood stopped oozing out. Once that was done, the black unicorn immediately turned his attention towards the rock which he had used earlier as a shield. Several shards of crystals were sticking out from it. Choosing what to do as an exercise to improve his weakness in multi-tasking, he attempted to pull out and levitate as many shards at the same time. The first shard came out easily, and so was the second one, as he so readily proves by levitating them both at an equal height before himself. But it was only when he began to pull out a third crsytal shard that the 2 earlier shards began to move differently, one notably slowly starting to go lower than the other. Despite this, StarShade didn't stop and pressed on to yank out a third shard before levitating all 3 of them, though in not as level and graceful as before.

[crystallance]

As the two unicorns went off to practice, Crystal began kneeling her hooves down upon the hard mountain rock. She observed her apprentices as they refined their technique, Apporta perfecting the speed of her teleport and StarShade practicing his ability to multitask his spells.

Certainly a versatile one… Crystal thought as she observed her male trainee. She had just observed the colt healing his wound with his aura. The question of just how far StarShade’s magic ability could go simply excited her curiosity. It was the unpredictable types like him that were her favorites. What intrigued her more than anything was a blank slate of a student. Though the colt’s specialization was rather ambiguous, it meant Crystal could enjoy a large amount of creative freedom the development of his abilities. Clearly, it would take a great deal of dedication however, as evident by dark unicorn’s clumsy levitation of the shards.

Crystal sighed as she turned her attention over toward Apporta. As she began to observe the unicorn filly’s patterns, Crystal began to realize just how she had been approaching the situation. It was certainly a perceptive way of handling the task and it seemed to have working. In that moment, Crystal decided it had been time for Apporta to take the next step.

“Memorizing the terrain to speed up the process… Quite the effective way of tackling the problem, Apporta,” Crystal complemented the filly while she trotted over to where she stood. A teal magical aura engulfed her horn as her eyes began to glow just the same. “It’s time that I introduced you to the power of clairvoyance, or clear sight. Whether blinded by blackest night or trapped in thickest fog, the things that elude you will fall into plain sight as you master the power of this spell. If you so choose to go the route of using sight as an enhancement to your teleportation, clairvoyance would surely prove a vital tool to your arsenal. Now would you be willing to learn such a spell, my apprentice?”

[apporta]

Apporta was practicing her teleporting when she heard Crystal's voice, complimenting her ability. Clearly Crystal saw what Apporta was attempting to do, using landmarks to judge where to teleport next. She then came to a stop and trotted over the Crystal. The leader of the Equestria Army mages wanted to show her something, clairvoyance. Apporta had studied clairvoyance in school, but only in theory. Now was the opportunity to try it in practice. It would be a great compliment to her teleportation.

"That sounds like a useful spell to learn," Apporta said, "Yes, I would be willing and ready to learn it."

[starshade]

StarShade was too occupied by his training to see what Crystal Lance and Apporta were doing or hear what they were speaking about. With sweat streaming down his cheeks and neck, the little black unicorn took long breaths every now and then as he held up the shards of crystals before him with his unicorn magic. After some time he was finally able to levitate all three crystals at the same level. He breathed in content at his accomplishment as a smile appeared on his face.

But it wasn't over yet. If StarShade wanted to become something far greater than he is now, then he would need to go beyond his limits. With his magical aura holding up the three shards, the colt turned his gaze towards another shard stuck to the rock. And with what seemed like a painful moan, he began to send out a fourth magical aura to grasp at it, the aura wrapping around the fourth shard like a small, dark tentacle. All the while, the other three shards he was helding up began to rise and fall abruptly. It would seem that StarShade has reached his limit, but that's what he wanted. He will not get stronger if he allows himself to be chained by his limits.

[crystallance]

“Very well, then,” Crystal responded to her apprentice, calm and collected. Her eyes had still been glowing brightly in the light of her magical aura, making it nearly impossible to read the expression upon the unicorn’s face.

“Take the moment to observe the intensity of my magical aura, Apporta,” Crystal continued on in instruction. “The typical unicorn draws her magical energy from within the center of her horn. That’s the reason our auras tend to glow so intensely from that specific part of us when we cast magic. As you should be able to tell, my aura happens to be brightest around the area of my horn as well.”

“However… Would you also be able to notice that my aura has been spread all throughout the range of this mountain vicinity as well as that?” Crystal questioned her unicorn apprentice, very quizzical in manner. “It’s true. My aura is currently spread all across this area. Though I’ve calmed its intensity to such low level, it’s practically invisible to the naked eye.”

“Casting the spell upon my glowing eyes, I may bear the appearance of a blind mare at first glance… but trust me. Every last detail around the two of us, I can see perfectly from a full 360 degrees.” Crystal stated. “And that, my apprentice, is the secret to clairvoyance. Be calm. Have control over yourself. Lightly disperse your magic around the area. Then… simply open your eyes.”

“Now be warned my apprentice: a unicorn’s exposure to such a heightened level of vision can be rather frightening for their first time. You will take in what will at first appear to be an incredibly overwhelming amount of visual information,” Crystal strongly cautioned her apprentice. “Now, clairvoyance is not an incredibly difficult spell for a unicorn with talent such as yours to learn. It could, however, take years to fully grow accustomed to.”

[apporta]

Apporta stood calmly and listened to what Crystal Lance said. It was what she wanted for so long: a teacher to help her improve her current magic and to learn new spells. She knew that something was happening as she could see how Crystal Lance's eyes glowed and the feeling of energy all around her. She heard about how everything could be seen clearer around her. She also heeded thw warnings about things being overwhelming.

"Alright, I am going to try the clairvoyance spell now." She closed her eyes and focused her magic, not at a target and not at herself like when teleporting, but out in all directions like a great wave rippling out from her. When she felt that her aura was far enough, she opened her eyes. To everypony around her her eyes appeared white with no corneias or pupils, devoid of any other color. Yet to her, everything was illuminated, giving off its glow. This included trees, rocks, water, anything. It was like the area was on fire. In her mind she seemed to know about everything around her, not just what she could see with her eyes.

It was overwhelming! Her brain was assaulted by the images, her eyes felt sore from the clarity of the images. It was starting to feel uncomfortable for her, yet Apporta knew that she needed to push through the discomfort to understand the spell. "This is amazing," Apporta said to no pony in partiicular, "Everything is so bright, and I can see everything around me."

[starshade]

His breath was very heavy, his eyes were barely opened and heavy sweat dripped mercilessly down his face as StarShade attempted to pull out a fourth crystal shard out from the rock, all the while keeping the other three shards in the air with his magic. With a heavy huff and puff, he slowly but firmly wrenched out the fourth shard from its rocky prison while the other three danced aimlessly in the air. With much caution and plenty of patience, the black unicorn slowly levitated the last shard amongst the rest before doing his best to hold up all four of them at the same level. It was difficult, but after much effort all four of Crystal Lance's broken shards were floating in alignment, in the air right before him.

"M-milady..." the colt tried to get his teacher's attention, with one eye closed from all the stress of mantaining his magical feat, "Milady~!"

Forgive me if I seem like I haven't paid much attention to Apporta. I'll have StarShade interact with her more after this.

[crystallance]

“Yes… Clairvoyance can be a rather beautiful way of viewing the world, can’t it?” Crystal Lance admitted in the face of her student. It was at that moment that she began to dispel her own clairvoyance. Her eyes suddenly reverted back to normal, as her level of vision also began to revert to its prior state. “Now be sure to take the time to grow accustomed to that spell. Though it was not hard to learn, I can guarantee that it will take quite a while for you to maste—”

Her words were abruptly interrupted by the ecstatic cries “M-milady… Milady~!” There was only one pony in Equestria who would ever call her that. Crystal quickly shifted her attention away from Apporta, glancing all over the mountain terrain before her in the hasty search for her apprentice StarShade.

“Wondrous…” Crystal Lance could not help but mutter in awe upon discovering the sight of StarShade’s perfected levitation. Her students had not come without their flaws, but they had both certainly had brought forth a strong and tenacious effort to correct them. She began to slowly clop her hooves against the hard mountain rock in a mildly stoic applause. It was true that levitation was nothing but a standard technique within the world of magic. StarShade’s display of it had certainly not been the reason behind her applause. It had been the level of resolve both he and Apporta had shown her that day that truly impressed her.

“Well, StarShade…” Crystal began in speaking to her other apprentice, as she slowly trotted over toward him. “I’ve just taught Apporta, here, a new spell. I believe it’s about your turn to learn a brand new technique of your own. Could there be, by any chance, a particular area of magic that would interest you, my apprentice?”

[apporta]

Apporta was about to answer Crystal Lance when the head of the army mages mentioned taking time to master the spell when she heard StarShade calling out. She stopped her clairvoyance spell, her eyes changing back, and turned towards StarShade. The unicorn was levitating the crystals that were previously created by Crystal Lance. The army mage seemed to turn her attention towards the StarShade, asking him about a spell that he wanted to learn. Apporta felt a little jealousy well up, but she quickly surpressed. After all she was supposed to be working with StarShade, not in competition.

Apporta decided that while Crystal was teaching him, she would practice teleporting with her new clairvoyance spell. It would be a challenge, blending two spells together, but this was her ultimate goal. She reactivated the clairvoyance and picked a spot on the mountain. Then she teleported there, but she found arriving there is was a little disorienting and she almost fell over. Nevertheless she continued perfecting this new technique.

[starshade]

"A new spell?" asked a panting and heaving StarShade, who, with his concentration interrupted, dropped the four floating crystals to the ground right before him. The shards fell on their sharp points and literally got stuck on the ground in upright, standing positions.

"I-I-I-I'm so sorry, milady!" cried the black unicorn as he began to cower before the Battle Mage, his tears indistinguishable from his sweat, "I didn't mean to lose my concentration." He didn't dare to look at the light green unicorn in the face for fear of getting destroyed by her for his carelessness.

"How I wish I could melt into my own shadow right..." the colt said to himself.

[crystallance]

It seemed Crystal’s satisfaction for her apprentice had been attained so easily, she ended up losing it just as quickly as it had been gained. The military mare slowed to an abrupt halt, bringing a nasty scowl upon her face as the four crystal shards fell to the ground before her. From her eyes, Crystal could see nothing but the pathetic black unicorn before her, sulking uncontrollably and nearly indistinguishable from a little foal. It seemed there had been a new lesson for the colt to learn; one of far greater importance than a mere spell.

“On second thought… You can FORGET IT!” Crystal Lance yelled into the poor young colt’s face, stone-cold and unapologetic. “I don’t think a whining foal like you even deserves to be taught a new spell… Let alone walk along the halls of HQ… It’s truly unfortunate that I’m beginning to reconsider my decision in bringing you into this military, StarShade…”

Had the unicorn’s harsh words been true? It was very difficult to tell. Crystal Lance brought across the cold words without a single trace of remorse in her voice. But on the other hoof, there had been no need for kindness for the task she had been intending to complete. More than anything, Crystal needed to toughen this young unicorn up.

“…Now instead of learning something new, you can perform for me the exact same task I assigned to you before! You’re going to lift those shards back up again, colt, and you’re going to do so for as long as I see fit! Are we clear on that, boy?!”